Escape
by Cobwebbs
Summary: Project X has escaped. They destroyed the home base and are out in the world, dangerous, unsupervised, and possibly unstable. If found - run. Do not engage. Call the proper authorities and don't look back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N) I haven't written a new story sicne last year - **

**I don't know what this is.**

**Except that it's an AU for sure.**

**Let me know what you think please.**

_Motivation is your Superpower_

* * *

Dr. Kean enjoys her work.

She does.

Or did - until they reassigned her clean researching facility to project - x.

For the greater good of humanity they said.

_"Kean - this project could change the world." Commander Hale - a tall broad, terrifyingly imposing man with a handlebar mustache had assured her._

_"All due respect - sir. My facility researches alternate ways for the planet to use energy, natural energy - global warming is a thing of the past no because of - "_

_"War isn't."_

And that was that. She and her most trusted members were relocated and given - this project to work with. This highly unstable, almost inhuman, very dangerous project.

"Dr. Kean?" A young man with large eyes and a face that did not belong in this room peers at her as she sweeps past in her long white lab coat.

"Talk Jones." She says flatly, she's running on nothing but two hours sleep and a half cup of caffeine. The bags under her eyes are proof enough of that. This project was getting to her - if it hadn't been for that stupid -

She shakes her head as Jones follows her in an uneasy gait.

"Um - you know the body scans we do regularly of the - the projects?" He says carefully, as if she's a ticking time bomb.

Kean cringes at the word 'projects' they weren't projects damn it. They were -

"What about them?" She says tiredly and places her hand on the print scanner that opens the giant four layers of titanium door.

"Um - well - something seems off about Number R - his reading were - Mutating?" Jones seems afraid to say it.

Kean blinks as the door slide open with a swoosh, she tucks a loos strand of hair behind her ear and snatches the holo-file out of the younger scientist hand. "What are you talking about? They're not even human to begin with how can they - "She stops, it's like someone punched her in the gut as her eyes read the numbers on the file.

_Oh no._

She drops the thing and runs into the sealed room _\- no, no, no, no - _

She stops - breath coming out fast and hard.

A giant hole gapes back at them through the thick unbreakable walls of the project's confinement chamber -

She freezes.

The last one - the one with the flames coming from his hands and eyes the color of hate and anger - he flicks his head back at her as the other two escape from the hole in the wall.

Her everything goes numb.

_ No_.

The world spins - everything turns on end except for that - that _thing_ \- that form of _boy_ -

He tilts his head just so and -and she _sees_ it.

She sees the genius, the planning, the smarts, the - '_checkmate'_ in his eyes and he - he _smiles_.

Dry, condescending. A punch in the face.

_"See ya doc."_

And then everything explodes.

* * *

**So - this is my fiftieth story ever.**

**Wow - not as impressive as I originally thought it would be.**

**But hey - I figured if I started writing on this site with PGG I might as well make such a milestone a PPG. Nostalgia man.**


	2. Chapter 2

**One Year Later . . . **

Dr. Kean's heels click on the white tiles, echoing in the blindingly sterilize hall as she heads towards her employers office.

"Dr. Kean - Dr. Kean I think you need to look at this before you go in." Jones rushes up to her, mousy hair askew as he tries to show her his information.

"Thanks Jones." She scans the holo file and sighs, hands the conductor back and adjusts her thin round glasses. Time to get dealing with this insensitive meat head over with.

She lets out a heavy tired breath as the doors slide open. The petit woman's steps into a dramatically dark room with a huge screen for one of its walls. Flashes of fire and destruction, greens, blues and reds rip across the screen. Kean rolls her eyes as she take in the tall thick man with his hands behind his, glaring at the flashing pictures on the giant screen as if his glare will change anything about it.

"You wanted to see me commander." She decides now was good a time as any to interrupt his dramatic brooding moment.

"Yes I did Dr." He turns, the screen pauses on one of the very young, very angry faces of the monsters that escaped their labs barely a year ago.

"DO you see this Dr. Kean?" He lifts a remote and presses a button. The pictures rewind at a dizzying speed and he pauses it perfectly on a smocking building surrounded by a ring of fire.

Kean wonders how often he practiced this moment. She crosses her arms unimpressed by this brutes glare. Men and their idiot attempts to show force.

"This used to be Megaville's most influential institute - we asked for their assistance before our - escaped projects and they burned it to the ground." Commander Hale says, voice deep and gravely and definitely not pleased.

Kean sighs and rubs at her nose bridge. "I know that sir. We've been trying our best to track and apprehend them but they're proving to be more difficult than we - "

"No Kean." He cuts her off. She bites her tongue. "These things have been out there for a year, they've destroyed every base, army troop, weapons system, and food court they've ever come across. And you still can' seem to catch them." He claps his hands and the lights flicker on.

Kean doesn't even blink. "What are you getting at exactly sir?"

"You're off the haunt."

She figures as much. It irks her very, very much. "Sir if you'll - "

"Sorry Kean, but I'm under orders by higher ups to catch these things before they destroy any more millions of dollars of government property. So I hired a special op force for TSS."

Kean sighs and pushes her glasses up her nose. "Might I remind you sir that Project X is highly unpredictable and my team is the only one that has even a mild idea of where they'll go next."

"Yes, I can see how well that's been working out." He steps into her space and glares down at her from the end of his nose. Kean sneers back. "You'll be taking the back burner from now on Kean. And when these new special Ops apprehend these monsters, you can get back to what you were supposed to do from the beginning." He leans in her face. "Research how to perfect the formula."

She never gets to retort.

The door flies open and a tall model sized woman dressed in tight black and armed to the teeth with dark skin and red hair burst inside with as much intensity as a shark on fire.

Seriously -why was everyone so ridiculously dramatic around here?

"Captain S. Bellum. TSS special forces. I hear you have - "She cocks her lazar gun and smirks. "Interesting assignment for me."

Kean suddenly has the stomach wrenching feeling that Project X was about to be terminated.

* * *

A young face peeks around a dark alley corner as cars wiz by - the streets are always busy here. Perfect for covering tracks of runaway freaks.

He scoffs at his own thoughts and steps out of the shadows, shoves his hands in his dark red hoodie and walks down the perfectly laid out asphalt.

"Hey you!"

He stiffens, shoulders go up and glances out of the corner of his hood. Heavily armed men in grey army attire walk towards him. His heart speeds up, his hands stiffen inside his pockets. Breathe - breathe . . . don't panic.

"Hey hold up there."

The men speed up.

Then speed right past him.

The boy stops, heart plummeting and lets out a short hard breathe as the TSS men start questioning an elderly lady that was pushing heavy boxes.

They're looking for them still.

He's sure of that.

He turns down the street and doesn't even pause when a jet car swerves over his head, the driver cursing at him heavily. He ignores them and pushes past a bunch of people immersed in their everyday lives. Ignoring him - just another loser that slipped through the cracks of an otherwise perfect cosmopolitan city of New Townsville.

_Blech_.

All the propaganda about technological advances to make the world a better place and to help humanity be the best form they can be makes him sick to his stomach. He's gotten to see firsthand what the sacrifices of 'progress' does to those unable to keep up.

Or what things are done to - progress.

He being one of those things. He looks back and forth before shoving at a loosened manhole cover, for all its advances in lifestyles, new Townsville still hasn't figured out how to update their sewage systems - subways were still a present thing here, although the maintenance has been taken over completely by robots now.

He slides down, carefully avoids anything wet and starts the trek down to his 'home' a of right now.

He avoids the large rats scurrying around his feet and pushes a box out of the way, he taps something on his wrist and the a door scrunches open revealing a threadbare room with a couple of boxes, and old couch and a strangely complex system of wires and screens pieced to gather in one corner.

Two boys, his age, a brunet and a blond, mill around obviously bored out of their puny minds.

"Hey Brick! Your back, I'm starved - "

Brick pushes his hood back to reveal a very young, very unimpressed face and a mess of red hair that's been horrifically cut short.

"Sorry Boys - had to make a detour. TSS was swarming the streets. Seems their getting more desperate. Thanks to somebodies stupidity." The red headed boy narrows his eyes in an impressively dark look at the dark haired boy who spoke to him.

The boy had the audacity to look pleased. "What - that trucker guy asked for it. I was hungry and he was a jerk."

"You know Butch - maybe we wouldn't have to be hiding underground if you would control yourself." The red head snaps and taps a screen he has in front of him. It's connected to a camera outside a fast-food place. TSS men like to go there off duty.

There were three out of uniform now. Eating a gross looking burger with fake meat. Real meat was illegal now.

"I hear they're getting replaced. Under new management now –" One was saying a she takes a noisy slurp of his green shake.

"Yah - boss man was pissed. But now - now he's just gone."

Brick looks up sharply, eyes narrowing at this statement.

"They said he retired." The third says.

The other two snort.

"Yah - permanently." The first says.

Brick glares at the screen.

Suddenly a ruckus shakes the restaurant, someone screams and the doors fly open.

A tall woman with red hair pulled back in a tight poufy bun dressed completely in black steps inside as black clad men run in form either side of her.

'This is official TSS business." She says sharply. Check the perimeter - and - " Her eyes land on the camera -

Brick swallows thickly, hands griping his makeshift desk as the terrifying woman comes closer and reaches for his camera looking him in the eye.

"This area has been compromised. Take it down." She hisses right before she rips the camera out of the wall.

Brick startles and the wall behind him explodes.

"They found us!" Butch shrieks and grabs their blond brother.

"Run!"

TSS men swarm the walls.

"Freeze!" Someone screams.

"Fat chance." Brick hisses and they do the opposite of that order. Plasma lasers go off and the boys dodge them, Brick rolls underneath his desk and grabs one of the many random doohickeys he has under there.

"See ya around - chums." He taps some buttons and throws the spherical object at them.

"Down!" Someone screams.

"Move!" Brick shouts and they break through the other side of the tunnel pocket just as the gadget he'd thrown explodes in a mess of red smoke allowing for the perfect distraction.

"We'll get you punks!" Someone screams again between coughs.

"Not in this lifetime." Brick hisses as they disappear down the tunnels.

* * *

**Half an hour later. . .**

Sara Bellum was a lot of things. But a slacker was not one of them. So when she finds out her men let those freaks escape well - some of them weren't going to make it out of intensive training.

She looks around at the mess they've created of the sewer hovel.

Something crunches under her boots, She bends over and picks up a shattered screen, a few years out of date but surprisingly well crafted for being obviously homemade. These things were intelligent. She knew as much.

"Ma'am?" A nervous private salutes behind her.

"Speak." She says, kicking aside a sparking motherboard.

"Project X was sighted near Subways station ten. Spaceport, train fifteen." Private says.

Bellum smirks. _So they want to run huh?_

She clicks her gun into place.

_Then let them run._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N) So updates are gonna be slow. I have a lot on my plate this year, and that includes a disertation that is eating my soul.**

**2020 sucks so far, and not just for me either.**

**I think the world is going to have a long year.**

**Motivation is still your Superpower though.**

**Thanks for reading any of my stuff, and I hope we all will be around for a long while yet.**

* * *

Kean doesn't say anything as the heavily booted woman and her lackeys follow her to the lab. Jones had wisely stayed away. Poor kid would have fainted if Bellum so much as glanced at him.

And now she has to – _inform_ \- these chump heads about project X before they go on a blazing head hunt. Kean sighs and takes off her glasses as the doors to her research facility swish open. Where had she gone wrong anyway?

This wasn't what she wanted for the world - this wasn't what she envisioned -

"If you're done talking to yourself, Doctor," Bellum snaps her out of her thoughts.

Kean decides she hates her and puts her glasses back on with decorum. "Right - well - this is what we have on Project X." She presses a few keys that glow under her fingertips. A holo-screen opens and images of their research flashes in front of everyone present.

"Project X is a top secret government issued bio weapon serum. Only it wasn't stable enough to inject into actual human subjects -" Kean doesn't even flinch when a video of a man screaming and literally melting to nothing flashes on the screen. To her credit, neither does Bellum.

"So we were forced to recreate a genetic formation of the human body only - stronger, faster, and indestructibly celled life forms." Each word was followed by flashes of a video of three bodies ripping into metals chambers and destroying buildings like paper. "Project X was then injected into these genetically created life forms and was _almost_ successful."

Bellum cocks her head in inquisition. "Almost?"

Kean pushes her thin glasses up her nose. "Turns out we didn't prepare for one anomaly."

"And that was?"

Kean looks the combat officer straight in the eyes. "Free will. They developed free will and became unstable. Then escaped. We never saw it coming." She's a scientist - not a strategist. Sue her.

"Hence why I'm here, obviously." Bellum snorts.

"Arguable. Anyway - before you go on you terminator spree. I think some introductions are in order." Kean ignores the snort from the taller woman and flicks the screen with a swipe of her fingers, an angry boy with fire for eyes and hair glares through the holograph. "This is Brick.'

"You _named_ them?" Bellum sounds condescending.

Kean adjusts her glasses. "Easier to say then Project X b49 and so on." In truth she didn't want the projects named - but the under scientist ended up doing it anyway and the names stuck. "He's the one we should have been keeping an eye on the most. Developed not only high intelligence but also brilliance in strategy and technical sciences. Also, he can burn things with his hands - and eyes. Super strength is a given and indestructibility – lasers," Kean eyes the red haired woman's plasma gun holster, "and bullets do _nothing_ to them, Brick's the smart one in case you didn't get the memo and - he orchestrates the other two."

She flicks the screen again and a large blue eyed boy with glittering gold hair and a shockingly innocent looking face appears. The video that plays shows him ripping through a building with electric currents shooting everything into dust. "Boomer's specialty is speed and electricity. He didn't develop on the intelligence level above average - but his emotional empathy took a shockingly realistic almost humane quality. But he's the fastest one of the bunch and just as deadly when he follows orders."

Another flick. The picture morphs into another boy - only this one looks fierce, green eyes dark, gleaming with something close to insanity and his black hair sticking every which way as he literally rips through metal cube chamber with his bare hands, green energy ripping and forming into any shape he wills it to as he smashes through anything still relatively whole - including the camera.

"Butch. His specialty is combat and strength and - he seems to be more emotionally unstable than Boomer, not as smart as Brick, but his strength takes out the charts, he also has the unique ability to form a green sort of plasma energy into any object he wishes, including shields and projectiles." Kean shuts the screen of and the lights come back up.

"So - I'm sure you're aware that this will be difficult." Kean says simply taking off her glasses and cleaning them on her lab coat.

Bellum snorts then sneers, cocking her gun. "I'm aware that this - will be easy enough to handle. You said their indestructible right?"

"Yes?" Kean narrows her violet blue eyes at the dark skinned woman in suspicion. "Why?

"Good. Because that means we don't have to hold back." Bellum smirks and flicks her ear phone on. "You got that Jim. No holds barred."

"Wait-" Kean blurts out in a mild form of panic when she realizes Bellum might be insane.

The woman cuts her off with a sharp swipe of her hand. "Don't worry Kean - we'll take those freaks down and out and we'll bring you back a piece maybe. But they _are_ going down. Thanks for the Intel."

"It's a very sensitive project Captain, you can't just go in there and destroy everything like Hulk- you don't understand the ramifications if - "

"I understand perfectly. Worry about your test tubes and bottles Doc. I have monsters to catch."

And she's gone.

Kean stares at the titanium encoded doors. She suddenly doesn't feel like a scientist. She feels like a traitor.

_No time for that Kean - you have a project to recalculate._

* * *

New Townsville never sleeps. There are shadows that aren't long. Neo lights shine everywhere, sky cars and busses honk and swish in the lanes. Noises and smells and people fill the cityscape. Nobody has time for anyone else. Joggers with a holo-screen in front of their faces telling them how far they run, measuring vitals. Robots cleaning careless messes of litterers, people talking to nothing because of the invisible ear phone they have, nobody has time to see or find or pay attention to anyone else.

Least of all the three little boys hiding in the only shadow they could find next to a freshly cleaned dumpster. Red eyes glow from underneath a dingy hoodie as they peer around a corner. Heavy booted men run past the hiding spot Brick eases back into the shadows and leans against the wall, ear burning as he tries to keep his body temperature form rising.

"They're going to kill us." Boomer whimpers into his overly large blue sweater sleeve, large blue eyes glowing dimly in the corner he's huddled into.

Butch, his dark hair practically invisible against the shadows they were cowering in, turns dark eyes to the sad blond boy. "They can't kill us moron. We're indestructible remember." He turns to Brick. "They can't kill us - right?"

Brick's eyes close and he lets out a steady breath. Breathe - breathe. "They can't kill us if they can't find us." He says finally.

The other two go silent and stiff before huddling closer.

"I wanna kill them." Butch hisses suddenly, green eyes glowing brighter as his anger suddenly rises.

Boomer shakes his golden head and burrows into Bricks shoulder. "I don't wanna kill anyone."

"Because you're a wimp." Butch snaps.

"Am not- you're crazy."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Shut up!" Brick growls loud enough to make them stop. His palms sting from the heat building in them. He stands. "Let's keep moving."

"Where?" Boomer asks, eyes wide and blue.

"Anywhere they aren't." Brick says and yanks his hoodie lower over his face. "Outside the city if we can - "

"They'll be looking for us at any transportation platform." Butch says dejectedly, rage flat lining as quickly as it jumped.

Brick taps the wall as he peers around the edge again. "True - I estimate they checked stations five through ten already - they'll be making the north rout now - before they get back . . .let's move." He hisses at them.

Boomer and Butch stand and they calmly fallow behind, eyes carefully taking in their surroundings as they purposely camouflage themselves with unsuspecting passer byers.

"Duck." Brick hisses when a TSS man stomps past. They all slide into spaces next to random citizens. Brick in a group of students, Boomer with an old lady pretending to hold her bags, and Butch with a jogger.

The man walks on.

They make a beeline for the nearest station. The anti-grav train was loading.

"Move it." Brick shoves Boomer on board, Butch jumps up next. Brick grabs the railings.

"Stop those brats!"

Brick curses and yanks himself onto the platform. TSS laser shoots at his leg and bounces off, frying his jeans.

"Hey!"

The station bellows its last warning, the tracks spark and the train rises off the rails. The TSS man grabs onto the railing. Brick spits in his face and kicks at his chest.

"Get off punks!" The man seethes and swipes at Boomers head. The boy squeaks and dodges.

"You get off!" Butch swipes a punch at the guys helmet encase face and shatters it, knocking out a few teeth too when he goes flying out with a scream and landing who knows where.

Brick's eyes widen when the Cavalry arrives, this stupid train hasn't picked up speed yet and - "Come on. Come. On!" He shouts at nobody in particular, his hands heat up - he growls out as a laser scorches the metal coating of the train cart.

"Halt in the name of the TSS!" A cadet shouts.

The conductor looks petrified and hits the breaks.

"NO!" Brick shoots to the front of the vehicle and grabs the skinny man by his shirt, eyes glowing a fierce deadly red. "Don't. Stop."

"Uh - uh - " A plasma shot makes the yellowing individual shriek and slam the start button again.

"Hey - hey! You're fired!" A soldier screams over the motor as it roars to life again.

Brick drops the fainted conductor and smirks at the soldiers as they fall behind. "So long suckers." He says and waves at them, hitting full throttle and finally losing them when they shoot through a tunnel.

"Phew - " He pushes off his hood and toes the limp conductor on the floor with his scuffed shoe toe. "Hey Mister? Mister you - you ok?" He bends and hears the man breathe_. Ok - alive at least_. He lifts the man up effortlessly and drapes him over the controls, flicking on autopilot after a quick study of the buttons.

"See ya." He waves and rubs at his neck sheepishly, heading back to his brothers in the next compartment. "You guys ok?"

Boomer nods already sitting in a corner tiredly. Butch sighs and shrugs as if he doesn't care about anything. _Good - neither was hurt._

"Where's this A-train headed anyway? TSS soldiers are gonna be waiting for us you know - '

Brick nods at Butch's observation. "Which is why we aren't getting off at the stop - we'll get off somewhere in the middle."

"Cool - extreme train jumping. Sounds fun!" Butch grins, a glint lighting his eyes.

Brick rolls his own eyes and sits next to Boomer tiredly, training his eyes on the window as the tunnel lights flash in a blur. "We'll get off once we reach midtown."

"And go where?" Boomer asks quietly.

Brick rubs at his own eye. "We'll know when we get there." He hopes they will anyway.

* * *

Bellum smirks as she watches the train whiz through the open space and out of the tunnel. "There you are." She raises a giant shoulder rocket launcher on her shoulders and looks through the spotter. "Come to Mama." She shoots.

The missiles aim is direct and hits the compartment with a shuddering explosive smash.

The train screeches deafeningly and tilts and loses its magnetic grip on its single rail careening out of control and tearing up the scenery like paper. Smoke, dust, and train bits fly everywhere.

"Bull's-eye." Bellum smirks_. Now - to get those monsters._ She jumps from her cliff view and slides down towards the wreckage.

A hand shakes out of a pile of dirt as someone coughs - people that were still alive crawl out and ask for help. She ignores them. They were small sacrifices in the face of a greater good.

_Where were they -_

A metal panel shrieks and is tossed aside as if it weighed no more than a shoe.

"What the - " One of them coughs violently.

_Gotcha_. Bellum smirks and arms her plasma gun as she approaches the unsuspecting monsters. This hunt is about to end.

"We gotta get out of here." The red one chokes out and lifts another out of the debris - _they really survived this - wow._ She's mildly impressed. Those braincases make good stuff.

"Freeze freaks." She lowers her gun and smirks wider. "Or don't. Doesn't matter.

They look at her like she has two heads. Not afraid - just weirded out. Not what she wants from them but - _whatever_. She shoots one directly in the chest, he flies back and rolls into a metal sheet.

"Boomer!" The red one shouts, his hands glow - _powers_. _Right_ \- she shoots at him, he dodges and shoots towards her in a red streak.

She doesn't catch him in time and gets sucker punched so hard she sees spots. But she didn't come here to stay down.

She stands, legs wobble - "Oh no you don't - " They're trying to get away. She shoots again -and again - hits one in the shoulders, he turns fierce green eyes at her and growls like an animal.

"Not now - " The red one grabs him by the shirt, they turn and aim to shoot away - She aims another missile at them.

"Wait!" The blond one stops.

_Why_?

She forgets to shoot as she watches the freak bend over and yank a small girl out of the debris. _What_?

"Go - go run - crazy people will hurt you." He says to the bawling child who listens. Then they disappear in streaks of red, green, and blue speed.

Bellum glares at the fading colors. _Well_ \- at least she got some good information to go on now.

Now all she has got do is get weapons that will take those punks down.

* * *

A little girl with thick brown pigtails and wide violet eyes stares at the empty sky - the country side was quiet - not like the city. She's seen the city once when she went to a conference with daddy.

The city had been big and noisy and scary sometimes.

Not like the peaceful quiet farm she lived on with her robot dog and their self-maintained vegetable growers.

Nothing bad happens here - she thinks that's nice and -

Streaks cut the dark starry sky and explode their barn. She gasps and shrieks.

"Daaaaaddddyyyyy!" She jumps down from her window sill and rushes out the door her father unable to catch her as he yells after her to come back inside the house.

She doesn't - she runs straight for their barn and looks inside, coughing at the dirt clouds.

"Shoot - someone's gonna be mad at us - " A voice says forlornly.

"Who cares - I'm beat - we have to hide before - "

"Shhh - "

The girl gasps and freezes, eyes wide as she takes in three boys - all pretty and colorful and - and they just smashed the barn - and they don't have a scratch on them.

"What are you?" She whispers in awe.

"Uh oh - " the blond boy gasps quietly.

"Busted." The dark haired boy whispers back.

"Hello - "

"Bunny - what's going on in there, you - " A tall middle aged man walks in with a very old twenty third century rifle in his hands. "Who are you?" His eyes dark and curious as he looks at the three dusty boys in front of him.

Bunny reaches for her father's hand. "Magic." She whispers - they flew out of nowhere like that magic boy in one of her favorite stories her father tells her before bedtime. The three look at each other than at the two shocked people in front of them.

That's when the red boy decides to speak.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed that.**

**See ya later.**


End file.
